Retarding device for chutes.



H. S. GARDNER.

RBTARDING DEVICE FOR CHUTES.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 11, 1911.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

UNTTIED sTaTns PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD S. GARDNER, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

RETARDING DEVICE FOR CHUTES.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD S. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retarding Devicesfor Chutes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to retarding devices for tubular chutes usedchiefly for delivering concrete from the upper floor of a high buildingin course of construction to the lower floors thereof; and it consistsin the novel construction and arrangement of pivoted retarding platesinside the chute as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a chute providedwith a retarding device according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a planview of the retarding device, showing the chute in cross-section. Fig. 3is a detail view of the pivot bearing. Fig. 4: is a diagram of a seriesof retarding devices, showing the chute in cross-section.

A is a portion of a tubular delivery chute. The material for theconcrete is elevated to the top floor of the high building in course ofconstruction, and is mixed by suitable machinery, and is discharged downthe chute A. The chute A also forms a reservoir for the mixed materialwhich is delivered to the lower floors as required for use.

lVhen the chute is empty or partially empty it is desirable to check thedescent of the material in it, and for this purpose the chute isprovided with a series of similar retarding plates 2 arranged one abovethe other at any approved distance apart. Each plate 2 is arrangedcrosswise of the chute, and it is secured to one end portion of a lever3. The lever 3 is pivoted by a pin 4 to a forked bearing 5 which issecured against the side of the chute by rivets or bolts 6.

The chute is provided with a slot 7 for the lever to project through,and the other end portion of the lever is provided with an ad-Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 11, 1911.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

Serial No. 637,870.

justable weight 8. The upper forked part of the bearing forms a stop 9for the lever, so that the weight normally holds the plate 2 in ahorizontal position. A spring might be used as the mechanical equivalentof the weight, but the weight is preferable as it is less liable to getout of order. A guard plate 10 is secured inside the chute over the slotand the pivot of the lever and its hearing, to prevent the material fromobstructing the slot. The plates are arranged at suitable distancesapart inside the chute, and the lovers are arranged radially of thecenter of the chute at equal distances around it and preferably inspiral order.

The material is retarded by the plates in its passage down the chute.When the n1aterial accumulates in the lower part of the chute, asindicated by the dotted lines 12 in Fig. 1, it holds the plate in asubstantially vertical position, and the plates are held in this mannerone after the other as the level of the material rises in the chute. Inthis manner the plates do not obstruct the discharge of the materialfrom any point in the length of the chute, but only operate to retardthe descent of the material when the chute is being filled in the firstinstance, or when the material is being taken away from the chute foruse as fast as it is being mixed and supplied to the chute.

that I claim is:

l. The combination, with a cylindrical delivery chute having a series ofslots arranged synnnetrically around it at different levels, of a seriesof levers pivoted to the chute and projecting radially through the saidslots, a series of retarding plates secured to the inner end portions ofthe levers and arranged one above another, and means for normallyholding the said plates crosswise of the chute with their middleportions at the axis of the chute and overlapping each other, said meansbeing connected to the outer end portions of the said levers.

2. The combination, with a cylindrical delivery chute having a series ofslots arranged around it at different levels, of bearings secured to theinside of the pipe adjacent to the slots and provided with stops, aseries of levers pivoted to the said bearings and projecting radiallythrough the said chute over the said bearings and the lever slots, aseries of retarding plates secured to pivots.

the inner end portions of the levers and ar In testimony whereof I haveaflixed my ranged one above another, means for norsignature in thepresence of tWo Witnesses. Inally holding the said levers against theHOVARD S. GARDNER. said stops with the retarding plates arrangedWitnesses:

crosswise of the chute and overlapping each BYRON A. MILLER,

other, and guard plates secured inside the WVATsoN B. LENDERMAN, Jr.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for Washington, D. G.

